PE 451 THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE & FINANCE
(or International Political Economy)
Prof. William R. Nylen
Fall 2004
Tues. & Thurs. 11-12:15, 320 Elizabeth Hall
(29 Class Meetings)
Office Hours: T.B.A. in 315B Elizabeth Hall
Today, phrases such as "globalization of the economy" and "international competitiveness" have
become commonplace in the news media, in the business world, and in government circles. Basically,
these phrases refer to the most recent phase of a continuous process that has been going on for hundreds,
if not thousands, of years: the consolidation of local markets, then national markets and, now, one
integrated international market. How can we better understand that process? How did the process begin
in the first place? Is it inevitable and inexorable? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? For example, what
does it imply for our future as consumers, as jobholders or as job seekers? How do nation-states, like
the United States or Bangladesh, adapt to an internationalizing market? What is the role and function of
politics in this process?
These are the questions that we will be addressing in this class. In answering them -- or in
debating the many different answers that will pop up along the way -- we will get to the very root of
many of our country's and our planet's most vexing problems. Hopefully, we will understand that the
most simple answers, in spite of their popularity and "parsimony", are also the most simplistic.
Understanding a complex reality requires that we move into realms of theoretical and systematic
abstractions that may be difficult, at first, to grasp onto. Trust me. It will be worth it.
BOOKS REQUIRED FOR PURCHASE:
Joan Edelman Spero & Jeffrey A. Hart Politics of International Economic Relations, 6th Ed.(2002), 512
pp.
Robert Gilpin & Jean M. Gilpin. Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic
Order (2001), 440 pp.
Alejandro Reuss et.al. [eds.] Real World Globalization: A Reader in Economics and Politics from
Dollars & Sense, 7th ed. (2002), 110 pp.
Joseph E. Stiglitz. Globalization and its Discontents (2003), 304 pp.
***** For those needing a review of your basic economics, see the following text on reserve:
Frederick S. Weaver. Economic Literacy: Basic Economics with an Attitude (2002).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
C Final Exam (25%), comprehensive and essay-based
C Final Research Paper (20%), 20+/- pages with bibliography and notes
C Preliminary Outline & Annotated Bibliography for Final Paper (5%), see the following websites for
assistance:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets.shtml
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http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm
C Midterm Exam (20%), comprehensive and essay-based
C Two Reaction Papers (10% each = 20%), see the following websites for assistance:
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/reaction.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/gennari/teaching/KR/reactionPapers.html
C Class Participation (10%)
C Prof. Nylen reserves the right to give "pop quizzes" at any moment he deems necessary or
appropriate (such quizzes will affect the final grade)
C Prof. Nylen stands by Stetson's official statement on grades, which says:
Grades represent the instructor's final estimate of the student's performance in a course.
The grade of A (+ or -) may be interpreted to mean that the instructor recognizes
exceptional capacity and exceptional performance. The grade of B (+ or -) signifies that
the student has gained a significantly more effective command of material than is
generally expected in the course. The grade or C or C+ is the instructor's certification that
the student has demonstrated the required mastery of the material. A student is graded Cor D (+ or -) when his/her grasp of the course essentials is minimal. [Stetson University
Bulletin, 2003-4, P.31]
-- Any form of cheating, including and especially plagiarism, will result in an automatic F grade for the
entire course. To plagiarize is ...
To take and pass off as one=s own (the ideas, writings, etc. of another). [Webster=s New World
Dictionary of the American Language (1962)]
-- No make-up exams will be allowed unless excuse is really good and fully documented.
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS:
INTRODUCTION
TH 8/26 (Day #1): Introduction, discussion of contemporary issues in international political
economy, systematic theory and interpretive frameworks (relevant & irrelevant actors, processes,
institutions, rules, values, ideologies, etc.)
I. DISCOVERING THE CONTEMPORARY REALITY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE &
FINANCE:
T 8/31 (Day #2): Student Presentations/Discussion of Contemporary IPE Issues/Problems
TH 9/2 (Day #3): Class Discussion: Bretton Woods, Interdependence & Globalization
B Spero & Hart, Chapters 1 & 2
II. TERMS, CONCEPTS & MAJOR THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
(including the role of ideas/ideologies vs. the role of politics/interests vs. the logic of the market)
T 9/7 (Day #4): Class Discussion: The New Global Economic Order & the Nature of Political
Economy
B Gilpin, Chapters 1 & 2
TH 9/9 (Day #5): Class Discussion: The Neoclassical Conception of the Economy
B Gilpin, Chapter 3
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T 9/14 (Day #6): Class Discussion: The Study of International Political Economy
B Gilpin, Chapter 4
TH 9/16 (Day #7): Class Discussion: New Economic Theories & their Political Significance
B Gilpin, Chapters 5 & 6
T 9/21 (Day #8): Class Discussion: National Systems of Political Economy
B Gilpin, Chapter 7
TH 9/23 (Day #9): Class Discussion: A Missing >Critical Perspective=?
B Spero & Hart, Chapter 5
B Dollars & Sense, Chapters 1.1, 1.2, 2.5, 2.6 & 4.14
III. THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
T 9/28 (Day #10): Class Discussion: The >North-North= System of Trade
B Gilpin, Chapter 8
B Spero & Hart, Chapter 3
B Dollars & Sense, Chapters 3.8 & 3.9
TH 9/30 (Day #11): Class Discussion: The >North-South= System of Trade
B Spero & Hart, Chapter 7
B Dollars & Sense, Chapters 4.16 & 6.21
T 10/5 (Day #12): Midterm study session AND Reaction Paper #1 due (topic of student=s
choice; Send to Drop Box on Blackboard)
TH 10/7 (Day #13): MIDTERM EXAM
T 10/12: FALL BREAK
IV. THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT
TH 10/14 (Day #14): Class Discussion: The Multinational Corporation in the >North=
B Gilpin, Chapter 11
B Spero & Hart, Chapter 4
B Dollars & Sense, Chapters 4.14 (review) & 5.17
T 10/19 (Day #15): NO CLASS MEETING (Dr. Nylen attending a conference)
TH 10/21 (Day #16): NO CLASS MEETING, BUT Final Paper Outlines & Annotated
Bibliographies due by 5:00 p.m. (Send to Drop Box on Blackboard)
T 10/26 (Day #17): Class Discussion: The Multinational Corporation in the >South=
B Spero & Hart, Chapters 8 & 9
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Th 10/28 (Day #18): Class Discussion: The State and Economic Development
B Gilpin, Chapter 12
B Dollars & Sense, Chapter 6.26
V. THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM & THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL
FINANCE
T 11/2 (Day #19): The International Monetary System, Pt. 1
B Gilpin, Chapter 9
B Spero & Hart, Chapter 2
TH 11/4 (Day #20): Class Discussion: The International Monetary System, Pt. 2
B Dollars & Sense, Chapter 3.10
T 11/9 (Day #21): Class Discussion: The International Financial System, Pt. 1
B Gilpin, Chapter 10
TH 11/11 (Day #22): Class Discussion: The International Financial System, Pt. 2
B Dollars & Sense, Chapters 1.3, 1.4, 4.13 & 6.22
T 11/16 (Day #23): Class Discussion: The International Financial System, Pt. 3
B Stiglitz, Chapters 1, 2 & 3
TH 11/18 (Day #24): Class Discussion: The International Financial System, Pt. 4
B Stiglitz, Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9
VI. CONCLUSIONS
T 11/23 (Day #25): Reaction Paper #2 due (on Stiglitz; Send to Drop Box on Blackboard)
==> Class Discussion
TH 11/25: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
T 11/30 (Day #26): Class Discussion: Managing the International Political Economy, Pt.1
B Spero & Hart, Chapter 11
TH 12/2 (Day #27): Class Discussion: Managing the International Political Economy, Pt.2
B Gilpin, Chapters 14 & 15
T 12/7 (Day #28): Final Review AND FINAL PAPERS DUE
IV. FINAL EXAM: MONDAY DEC. 13TH, 1:00 - 3:00
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